First and foremost, apologies for the delay in responding. As I'm sure most of you have noticed over the past year or two, whenever I am neck deep in a new manuscript, my diligence in posting wanes a bit. As the last two weeks have been a deep-dive into finishing Tracer, the third of the Zoo Crew series…Anyway, this week, I am torn. Not only is my favorite holiday fast approaching, but the World Series also started earlier this week. As there is no doubt I will posting about Halloween again in the coming days, this morning I have opted to go back to an old standby gimmick.

A completely random, based on only my own recollections, in no way done w/ any bit of scientific research, list!-insert cheesy grin here-

This week, to that end, we are recounting my favorite in-person memories from the greatest stadium on earth over the last couple years.

In reverse order, here goes my top-five Fenway moments…5.) Yankees Suck! Every game, ever.Coming from the Midwest, I grew up erroneously believing that Michigan-Ohio State was the biggest rivalry in sports. Oh, how wrong I was.

Every game I have ever been to has featured no less than two vigorous, stadium wide “Yankees Suck!” chants. And to be clear…I don’t just mean Red Sox-Yankee games. I mean every game.4.) Sox-Orioles, 2000.

My maiden voyage into the hallowed ground that is Fenway Park. This was before Monster Seats. Advertising on the left field wall. The beer garden. Any of it. This was the last home game of the season. The Sox weren’t making the playoffs. It didn’t matter. The place was still packed.

(No-MAAHHH went yard...an O’s fan got a beer dumped on his head...)3.) Derek Lowe No-Hitter, 2003.A rare day game I was able to squeeze in between football practices, we happened to show up for a no-no. If you’ve never seen one live, the first 6-7 innings are every bit as boring as you’d expect from a game where literally nobody hits the ball.The building anticipation and payoff at the end makes it all worthwhile though.2.) Pedro Martinez, any game 1999-2003.I don’t even need to pick a specific game (I saw him live four times). Pedro Martinez in that four-year stretch was as dominant as any pitcher. Ever. It was electric when he was on the hill. You could feel it the moment you stepped into Kenmore Square. Every person in the house stood for every two-strike count. Nobody missed first pitch.1.) Game 4, 2004 ALCS.Otherwise known as the Dave Roberts game, due to his pulling off arguably the most important stolen base in baseball history. He swipes that bag in the 9th, Sox push to extra innings, we go home singing Dirty Water on the T.Actually, ya know what? This night was too transcendent to cram into a single paragraph. Expect a full report on the night I converted Lil Stevens to a Red Sox fan forever later this weekend…